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People Class Group TBA Group Miscellaneous Story “One Year Ago, the deadly fungal virus that would sweep across America hit shores. The twelve of us were in class together, and after the recent outbreaks, we stuck with one another. There’s Alyssa, Nick, Jordan, Sammy, Reece, Zoe, Hope, Konrad, Allison, Hunter, Eli, and I. We are hoping to make our way to safety. Rumor has it that a cure to the Outbreak was recently found in the remains of San Francisco. The problem is… we’re in New York. We’ve began to pack up our stuff, hopefully we’ll make it their in one piece. But something is lurking… there’s something that is right in front of me, and I just can’t figure out what it is. It’s probably nothing, but its growing on me. I’ll find out sooner or later…” 'Chapter 1: New York City' DAY 1 I wake up. The air is dusty and filled with random specs of rubble flying in the air. The twelve of us are in the back of a military truck. After the nearby labs leaked another wave of the virus while testing for a vaccine, the military ordered a state of caution, and has been evacuating citizens that haven’t been infected yet out of the city. The plan is for New York to be completely quarantined. The truck bounces up and down as we drive over fallen pipes and potholes. I look around at everyone surrounding me. To my right, there’s Alyssa. She and I are Technology Prodigies, and can hack anything or build anything out of basic supplies. Beside her is Zoe, the loudmouth of the group. She may say some dumb things, but she’s smarter than you think. Then there’s Nick and Jordan, the combatants of the group. They’re punching and jabbing at each other, as usual. Sammy and Konrad sit on the edge of the right bench. They’re the whizzes of the group. They scribble things nervously into their notepads as we continue on. On the left side of me, there’s Hope, the weapons expert, and Hunter, the bomb handyman who loves explosives. Eli is also on my left. His dad was a part of the original scientists who introduced the virus to the country. Ever since then, Eli hasn’t been able to find any of his family. It’s really sad when you think about it. The last and quietest of the group, of course, is Reece. I haven’t known Reece for that long. He doesn’t say much, but when you do get to talk to him, you better savor it. I’m not sure if he’s just shy in general, if he has some deal with me, or if he’s got something to hide. The driver mumbles something to the man sitting in the passenger seat. A short rustling of papers and junk follows. Before I can put anything into context, the truck is hit by an oncoming car. Glass shatters as the group is thrown across the back seats to the left side of the vehicle. I get up and scavenge around. No one appears wounded, just minor injuries. The back door opens, and the driver appears. “What in the name of sanity are you doing back here? We’ve got infected coming. Run!” I pick up my backpack, grab Alyssa’s arm, and make a run for it. We sprint down the moss covered streets as a faint grunting and rambling forms behind us. The driver pulls a rifle out of the front seat and starts shooting. He kills off a few infected, but the gunfire silences. I look back to see him falling off the top of the truck, and an infected standing where he used to be. I turn back around to keep running. We all pant and push on as the infected get closer. “Over there, the shop on the corner, with the writing on the windows!” Sammy shouts. We rush over to the restaurant. I grab the door handle, and tug at it. “It’s locked! We need to get it!” I exclaim. Jordan runs over to the curb and breaks off some loose concrete. “Move!” he orders. He throws the rock into one of the windows, shattering the display and causing glass to crash everywhere. “Hurry everybody in, quickly, they’re coming!” Hunter says as he shuffles us in one by one. We grab a few chairs and tables and place them in front of the hole. “Everyone get to the kitchen, and hide!” I say. As we clutter into the kitchen, a loud pounding begins on the junk pile. We all hide in cabinets, closets, and under carts, each trying to find something to fend off the infected. Reece stumbled around dazed and in shock. I grab his hand and pull him into a closet with Alyssa and me. The chairs collapse and an infected walks in. I peek through the sliver in the door to get a better view. “Ok you two, listen up. Out there, that’s a Stage 2. Stage 2 Infected can only see through hearing, kind of like a bat,” I whisper slowly and quietly, “I’m going to go distract it, then you help me take it out. Got it?” They nod in agreement, and I slowly open the door. It slightly creaks and the infected being turns around and grumbles. We make sure to not make any movement, and the beast keeps searching. I kneel down and pick up a bottle of old alcohol that is covered in dirt and cobwebs off the floor. I chuck it across the room, and the creature runs towards the shard in a hurried panic. I reach into my backpack and grab a shiv; then I motion Alyssa and Reece out. “1...2…3!” They grab the arms of the creature, as I sink a blade into its neck. It drops to the ground instantly, whaling out a song of pain and death. Blood slowly pours out of its head and forms a small pool on the floor. I glance at Reece and Alyssa. “You two alright? No injuries. No bites?” I question. “Clean and safe,” says Alyssa. “I’m good, yeah, I’m alright,” Reece answers. He checks himself for bite marks, but finds nothing. “Hey guys! It’s ok to come out. The rest ran up the street looking for us.” Everyone congregates around the body. Jordan kneels down and looks at the head, then sits back up. “Eli,” he motions him over. Eli hesitantly walks to Jordan. “So pretty boy, I hear your dad was one of the morons who did this to us? Why was your old man such an idiot?!” He slams his hand on a table in anger. Eli rushes over to get into a fist fight, but Nick breaks them up. “Guys, guys! Stop your whining and let’s focus,” says Hope, “I heard the driver discussing how they had found a cure in San Francisco. In old California, there’s a medical base. If we can get there, we can try and find out how to prevent becoming infected.” Eli and Jordan calm down and back away from each other. “Ok then, Eli tell us what the heck we are fighting, and how we can stop it. Go from the start, and tell us what we need to do,” says Konrad. Eli begins: “Ok, so what we are fighting is a virus called the Overgrowth. It is spread through physical contact by mainly biting. Basically, the poisonous substance in the virus makes it way to the brain, and grows like a leech into your thoughts. The virus destroys any memories you have, gets rid of emotions, and only leaves your body functions somewhat intact. It’s like someone else is controlling your body, but you never have any idea. Basically, like Hope said, we need to get to San Francisco. As quickly as possible, because I’m sure there will be other groups like us looking to get their hands on the cure. Speaking of which, let’s head out.” We return to the kitchen to gather any spare knives or supplies left. Then I slump by backpack over my shoulder and begin to walk out. We grab the remaining chairs and push them aside, and each of us climbs out of the window. The sun is setting, so we hurry out. The streets are filled with gun smoke and the smell of dead bodies. Corpses line the streets of people that had been shot dead before they could turn. It’s sad really. These people were living thirty minutes ago, and now they’re beyond the grave. We start down the street. A sign says that Philadelphia is 96.3 miles away. “Geeh, kind of far, don’t you think,” Konrad says. I nod and keep walking. The golden rays of the sun shine through the hanging vines and gaping trees sprawled out across the streets. There’s run down cars all over the place on this street. Some of the streets were in use for transport, but most are like this, abandoned and filled with the remains of the past. We arrive in some sort of plaza and gaze around. There’s an old water fountain in the middle, filled with a murky liquid that I’m sure isn’t safe to drink. Stone columns surround the perimeter and hold up the surrounding architecture. Zoe feels the walls of the cracked landscape and says, “Where are we? I’ve never been to this side of the city.” “I don’t know,” Hunter answers. “Let’s settle down for the night, it’s getting dark out,” Sammy says. We agree, and walk into one of the buildings. The halls echo with silence and the bloody handprints on the wall give me a bad feeling about this place. Luckily, it appears to have been an old apartment building. The boys go into one room, and the girls go into the neighboring room. I grab my backpack off my shoulder, and set it down on the floor. The furniture has been looted out of the room, so we all have to sleep on the floor. The window has been smashed out, allowing access to the room’s balcony. “This will do,” Jordan says in a sarcastic tone. Sammy distributes the tattered sheets and pillows among the group. Nick and Jordan grab the chair and a few planks from the wall, and board up the doorway. We get in our makeshift beds and doze off. “Night everyone,” I say. Everyone replies an answering “Night”, except for Reece. ”Reece, are you alright?” I ask. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he replies. I shrug it off, and go to sleep. DAY 2 I awake to the sound of screaming. My eyes spring open and I lunge up from my sleep. The cry for help came from the girl’s room, so we eight get up and run in that direction. I bust down the door, and run over to the girls. They’re waiting on the balcony. Below are three infected. They are growling and howling, trying to grab at the bottom bars of the terrace. I push them out of the way and get a better look. Hunter says, “Guys let’s try distracting them! Grab stuff from inside the roof and throw it as far as you can!” I run in and grab a piece of the broken off bathroom counter top, and chuck it as far as I can. I run back in, and Konrad runs out. All of a sudden, there is a loud metal creaking noise. Konrad looks back in the room, but it is too late. The balcony caves in as part of the surrounding flooring collapses. Konrad lands right on the infected, and begins to scream. Sammy panics and searches around the room. He finds an old rifle hidden in the bathroom, and throws it to Nick. Nick then sprints across the room to the collapsed area, and begins to shoot at the infected. Konrad continues to flail and freak out as the infected begin biting him. Nick shoots all three infected, and they drop to the ground with a thud. “You know what you have to do,” Jordan says, “he’ll turn if we don’t.” Nick holds up the rifle one more time, and sinks a bullet right through Konrad’s head before he could reanimate. One deceased, eleven left. The eleven of us stand in shock at the events that have just occurred. Alyssa grabs my arm in a firm grip, and clutches to my side. “We did what had to happen,” Nick says, “it was him or us, he was down there for too long. No way could we have saved him.” The boys and I return to our room, grab our stuff, and begin to head out. Reece is sitting in the corner, staring at the wall. I walk over to him and kneel down. “C’mon man, that was all a fluke. No way could we have anticipated that balcony collapsing.” “But what if something else happens to us? San Francisco is a long way from here. How are you so sure that more of us won’t die?” he asks. “Hey, don’t think like that. Look, I know this sounds cheesy, but you have to look on the bright side of things. We’ve survived this outbreak for almost a year now, so don’t you dear go quitting on me. Ok? We can do this. Understand?” I question. He nods slowly, looks at me eye to eye, then turns away and gets up. The Boys and Girls meet up in the main plaza. We walk by Konrad’s body, bloody and with a hole in the cranium. Hunter squats down and slides Konrad’s backpack off of him. He unzips it, and grabs some things out of the main compartment. Hunter follows, “Let’s see… we’ve got… a United States map, some, pencils, and a few notebooks.” He flips through the pages. ‘Nothing in them though.” He gets back up and we began to walk out. “Any ideas on where we go now?” Sammy asks. I look around the plaza, and see an old sign. “Maybe just maybe...,” I begin. I walk over to the wall, throw off some old vines and branches, and a smile forms on my face. “Ah, the subway, and lucky for us, if you look here:” I point to the green line, “there’s a train going from New York to Philadelphia. If we could get down there, Alyssa and I could try and find the necessary parts, Nick and Jordan could detach the first car, and we could travel down to Philadelphia. Engine may be slower, but it’s faster than walking.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Allison says. “The train station is south of here, only about three miles. We can make it by sundown,” Sammy explains. “Well then, let’s pack up and head out,” Hope says. We all walk away from the board and head back out the main entrance of the plaza. The gate is closed now, presumably by the police last night. Nick and Jordan grab the gates, and shove them open. A loud screeching rumbles through the boulevard. A group of birds, startled by the noise, fly off away from us. The wind blows gently through the hanging vines of the stoplights as we make our way downtown to the subway station. There isn’t a person in sight, all have either left the area, or have become infected. I think of the times when things weren’t like this. A year ago, I was sitting there in my biological sciences class, with the rest of the group. We were learning about chemical sciences, when the news of the outbreak reached the school. Every panicked. We boarded up the exits, and hid in our classrooms. Some infected busted in, killed our principal, and then made their way to the other food sources, us. Many of the students, and friends of mine, were killed whilst trying to escape. The twelve of us escaped through the vents, and ran for our lives. That day was the last time I saw my parents. I’ve searched all of New York for them, but I’ve never had any luck. We were supposed to be deported to Orlando, but then the infected attacked us, and now we’re here. I just wish that… I’m stopped in my thinking as the sound of gunfire whistles around my head. “Are you kidding me?!” Hope exclaims. “C’mon, down here!” Zoe calls out as she points to a nearby subway entrance, “We can get to the main line this way!” The group dashes frantically to the stairwell. Eli trips as he shuffles down, landing flat on the ground. “Ugh… that hurt,” he moans. I run over and offer him a hand. “Are you okay?” I lift him up and dust the dirt off his back. “Yeah, I think so.” He gasps in pain. “Or not,” he follows. I kneel down, and thrust him up onto my back. Then we continue to run and catch up with the others. An old and abandoned subway engine car sits motionless on the tracks. The windows are shattered and the whole thing is rusted, but anything will make do for a good hiding spot. We scatter in and crouch down under the seats. The eleven of us sit in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the oncoming threat. Reece and Allison begin to freak out, moving frantically through the cabin. “Get down you morons!” Nick whispers in an angered tone.Allison takes a spot next to Alyssa, and calms down. I grab Reece, and drag him beside me. I turn to him with a stern expression. “Reece. Listen to me. I promise you, we will be alright. Now chill out, and get it together!” I rant. “Sorry, I just... well... forget about it. I’ll explain later…,” he says. I stare at him and try to ponder what he means, but shake it off and move on. The gunfire and yelling of various men above continues for a few hours. My guess is it is just a raid for supplies from one the gangs. To our luck, they don’t think about coming down in the subway. We spend most of our time waiting by playing with a deck of cards jammed in between one of the seats. Sammy, Alyssa, and I look at the US map and plan our route. “So as of now, the plan is to head to Philadelphia, right?” I ask. “Yeah, the safest route is through this subway station.If we head southwest, and get one of these subway cars up and running, then we could be there by tomorrow morning,” Alyssa replies. ”Good deal,” Sammy says, “shall we tell the group? Alex, you want to do it?” I nod and look back at the others. They all glance up and await news. “So, where are we heading?” Allison asks. The others nod in agreement and look at me. “The plan is to get one of these trains running. Alyssa and I are going to work on the tram’s engine while the rest of you split up and gather supplies. See if you can find anything. Medicine, old food scraps, weapons, bandages, anything. Once everything is ready to go, we’ll head out for Philadelphia,” I explain. Everyone packs up their stuff and begins to head out, but then I remember something. “Oh yeah, stupid me, look out for those gang members. We’ve already lost one of us today, we don’t want another. When you’re done, meet back here? Got it?” They nod and the eleven of us resume packing. Alyssa and I head over to another cart that looks like it is in pretty good shape. Hope, Allison, and Zoe head off down the station looking for resources. Sammy and Eli slowly make their way into the tunnel, looking for spare parts in the nearby train cars. Nick, Jordan, and Hunter head down the very end of the tunnel, clearing out the boarded up exit. Reece walks runs up behind Alyssa and I. We turn around and ask him what he wants. “I was wondering… could I help you guys out? I’m really interested in learning about technology. I mean if that’s ok with you,” he says shyly. I look at Alyssa, then back a Reece. “That’s alright with me,” I say as I wrap my arm around his shoulder, “but next time, you just have to ask.” He smiles at us and we hop in the train car. “Ok, so first off, let’s find the engine. Easy enough,” I say. In a matter of seconds, we find it, and open up the compartment. “Oh wow..,” Alyssa whispers. The engine is in nearly perfect form, minus a few missing parts and some tweaking needed to be done. “Hey Reece,” I ask, “Can you check over near the driver’s seat if there’s a toolbox there?” Oh yeah, sure,” he replies.He fumbles around with the side door of the cabin, rustling and clanking metal parts around. “Here it is!” He hands Alyssa and I the set of tools. “Ok, Alyssa, hold up this latch please,” I say, “and Reece, you watch and try to soak in as much as you can.” I grab a wrench from the box, and begin turning it to the right.” Righty tighty, lefty loosey,” I begin. The bolt clamps down, and I begin to pick at the wiring. In a few knot untangling minutes, I have everything hooked up. “Ok, so we just need a conductor to put in the panel, right?” Alyssa asks. “A conductor, so like a metal rod?” Reece follows. “Yeah, that should be able to do it,” I answer. I get up and hop out of the train. I start sifting through the rubble around the car, looking for the missing piece. As I move one of the boulders, a rat scurries out, startling me. “Afraid of a little mouse I see?” I look back and see Alyssa leaning up against the doorway with her arms crossed. “Oh shush you,” I reply jokingly. She smiles and walks back into the cockpit. I continue searching, and finally find a small metal tag. It’s flat and broken, with some writing inscribed on it. “Car... and …phen Gil…” The rest is broken off or burnt beyond recognition. I shrug and head back towards the car. I grab the doorway and pull myself up. Holding up the tag, I show it off to Alyssa and Reece. “Here we go,” I say as I jam the sliver into the socket. A thumping comes from the engine, followed by a few dusty coughs. The train sputters, and the lights come on. The dash panel begins to flash on, most of the lights dimmed or broken. Alyssa begins flipping some switches and pulling down some levers. “OK, we should be ready to go,” she says. “We’re ready!” I shout out the window. In the following minutes, the rest of the crew files in from their specific areas. “Ok status report.” I say, “We were able to get the train up and running, it only has a little gas left, so let’s hurry this up.” The girls walk up to the train first. “We found some food in a vending machine, expiration date isn’t for another few months,” Zoe says. “Great, good work girls,” I say as I help them up into the car.